Sautoir Lorgnette

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Sautoir Lorgnette

Place of OriginUnited States (probably New York)

Dateabout 1920

DimensionsLorgnette with jump ring: L: 2 1/4 in. (5.7 cm); W (base): 3/4 in. (1.9 cm);
Sautoir: L: 29 1/2 in. (74.9 cm)

MediumPlatinum, diamonds (round), glass (engraved), eye glass

ClassificationJewelry

Credit LinePurchased with funds given by David K. Welles, Jr. in memory of his grandmother, Virginia R. Elmes

Object number

1997.306

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 34, Jewelry Gallery

Collections

Decorative Arts

Label TextElegance and practicality are combined in the sautoir lorgnette (so-TWAHR lorn-YET), allowing ladies of fashion who did not want to be seen wearing eye glasses to nevertheless have them at hand easily—and rather grandly—when needed. The pair of glasses, or lorgnette, could be released from and then retracted into a protective handle (see picture). By attaching it to a long, jeweled chain (a sautoir), the lorgnette could be made more convenient—and more glamorous. These long chains were well suited to the new “flapper” fashion of the 1920s that stressed simple shapes with long vertical lines. In this instance, the chain is particularly elegant: platinum studded with diamonds and interspersed with engraved glass plaques. Each plaque features a woman in flowing classical dress. The protective case for the lorgnette also serves as a pendant. It combines the delicacy of the jewelry of the early 1900s with the new, streamlined Art Deco style.